From the Fire of Hagsmire
by Shadow of Stonepack
Summary: An owlet is born into the world of St. Aggies. When the Pure Ones strike, she proves to be a powerful warrior and they use her for themselves. With this new owl, is there hope for the world of Ga'Hoole?


Through a small white orb, a small crack formed. The chick inside cheeped as it felt a sliver of light cross its closed eyes. Even with them closed, it could still see it. It kicked fiercely, splitting the crack down the middle.

It was then that one could see a bright light flash from within, before it faded.

The chick collapsed into the nest of straw, its little lungs taking in fresh air as it took its first breaths. It cracked its eyes open, scanning the world around it. It was all hazed and blurry. The chick chirped. This was interesting!

It tumbled through the straw, pecking at the orb of which it had hatched from. A new life had entered the world of Ga'Hoole; energetic, full of life, and innocent to the world around it.

And nobody gave a single pellet.

This chick had no name; the closest thing it would ever have to one was a number. It was a girl; not that anyone bothered to check. She was a barn owl; when she matured, a snow-white belly would stand out against a brown speckled back.

That is, if she even survived.

This was St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. Truly a living Hagsmire on earth, it was survival of the fittest. Their plan was so simple, yet truly brilliant: By controlling the youth, they controlled the future.

This little owl was to be given the number 24-2. Had she not been born here, and raised with a normal family instead, she would have been known as Ebony. She was a special owlet; indeed, had anyone paid the hatching egg any heed, they would have seen that the cracks were luminescent, much like Hoole's had been.

But none of that mattered here. As soon as Ebony, or rather, 24-2, was able to walk, she was taken away. 24-2 cheeped; she longed for the warmth of the nest. But did anyone care? Nope. No single owlet was important in this hellish canyon, which seemed to be a world in of itself, sealed away from everything else.

"Call me Auntie," a voice purred as 24-2 was taken down one of the many canyons with dozens of other owlets. 24-2 looked up to see a white owl, with black barring and golden eyes. The most jolting thing about her was the jagged scar that ran down her face, like a lightning bolt. 24-2 suppressed a shudder; whoever did that had to be frightening. One of her eyes was blind, and wept constantly. She also had a nauseating stench to her which made 24-2 a bit queasy. Nevertheless, she was a sweet owl. 24-2 knew she shouldn't judge her.

24-2 spent the night in the glaucidium, doing the sleep march, as usual. 24-2 felt an owl nudge her, but didn't pay it any heed. When she felt the nudge again, she cracked an eye open to see a Great Horned owlet looking at her urgently. 24-2 was confused, and so, she moved away.

Had 24-2 listened to what she had to say, 24-2 may just have been saved from being moonblinked. Sleeping under this bright, full shine wasn't normal and dangerous. VERY dangerous. But 24-2, being naive, simply did as Auntie told her. 24-2's mind was unable to wrap around the fact that there was evil in this world. This was her purpose, her destiny, to obey these owls.

"Hey! 21-7! No talking!" one of the monitors barked. 24-2 jumped, thinking that he was getting after her for a moment, before she heard the number. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized it wasn't her. She realized that he was getting after the owlet who seemed to be trying to talk to her, and she was glad that they were tending to her.

24-2 eyed the Great Horned owlet lazily a few times. She realized how tired she was, but every time she would start to doze off under the full shine, the owl with the number 21-7 would nudge her. Growing irritated, 24-2 moved away and lost her in the crowd. 24-7 felt an urge within her mind; an urge to... let go of something. Had she known any better, she would have known that she was falling under the spell of moonblinking. It called to her, becoming stronger and stronger. 24-2 soon gave in, submitting and becoming just another slave of St. Aggies.

But it wouldn't be forever.

In the back of her mind, a small voice called, _Nothing lasts forever _before she lost her ability to truly think.


End file.
